Woman Who Instagrammed Her Cocaine-Smuggling Cruise jailed for 8 years

One Canadian woman, Melina Roberge was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison after attempting to smuggle millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Australia on a cruise ship.

The woman, 24 years, pleaded guilty to smuggling 209 pounds of cocaine in 2016, the Washington Post reports.

Roberge — who became known as “Cocaine Babe” in headlines — and her accomplice, Isabelle Lagace, 29, documented their travels by posting photos on their Instagram accounts during the weeks-long cruise that stopped at 17 ports in 11 countries before ending in Sydney. Roberge’s account has since been deleted.

“She was seduced by lifestyle and the opportunity to post glamorous Instagram photos from around the world,” Judge Kate Traill said in New South Wales state District Court. “She wanted to be the envy of others. I doubt she is now.”

When the ship arrived in Sydney, border officials found 77 pounds of cocaine in Roberge and Lagace’s room. Another 130 pounds was found in a cabin belonging to a Canadian man named Andre Tamin in his mid-60’s, the Post reports.

Lagace was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison last year. Tamin is slated to receive his sentence in October. 

Roberge will serve at least four years and nine months without parole. At some point she will be deported back to Canada.

Authorities say the three were charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine, which holds a maximum penalty of life in prison.- Time

Billionaire kidnapper : Evans‘ll not escape Justice - Lagos state

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday assured that no effort would be spared in ensuring the logical conclusion of the cases filed in court against kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike popularly known as Evans.

Evans, who was arrested at his mansion in Magodo area of Lagos last year, is being prosecuted by the State Government in court alongside others for masterminding and executing series of high profile kidnappings and murder in the State.

The State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, who said this at the ongoing Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa as part of activities marking the third year anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, said the State Government was committed to ensure the logical conclusion of all pending cases in court and serve justice to the people.

“On the Evans’ matter, the cases filed against him are ongoing in court. The issue is that the lawyer representing him is trying to play some games to delay the matter but in all his games, we have been defeating him in court.

“We have filed different cases. Some are for kidnapping and some bordered on murder and his lawyer is fighting all the cases but what I can assure the people is that we are committed to ensure the matter is concluded and defeat him at the end of the day,” Kazeem said.

While reeling out activities of the agencies under the Ministry in the last one year, the Attorney General said the State Government received and treated a total number of 11,451 cases through the Special Task Force Against Land Grabbers, Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) and the Special Offences (Mobile) Court in the last one year.

He said the government also received 316 inquiries through the recently unveiled first state-owned DNA and Forensic Centre with 71 active cases currently ongoing bordering on homicide, rape, toxicology, child trafficking, serology, among others.

According to Kazeem, the Anti-Land Grabbers Task Force designed by the present administration to fight the menace of forceful take-over of properties received 1300 petitions out of which 855 were concluded and 530 currently at various stages of resolution.

“In the period under review, over 35 arrests of suspected notorious land grabbers were effected while 26 criminal prosecution cases against suspected land grabbers are presently ongoing,” the Attorney General said.

Besides, the Attorney General said in a bid to enhance due diligence in property transaction, the State Government introduced the Real Estate Electronic Litigation Database designed for the provision of access to information primarily on properties which are subject of litigation, adding that since its launch, the portal has recorded over 1,000,000 hits and over 10,000 consistent users from Nigeria, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and others.

He recalled that since its inception, the DSVRT had galvanized strategic action and responded appropriately to formal and informal reporting of incidents of rape, defilement, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect and maltreatment in the State through the active support of the Governor and other partners.

“The Ministry has noted an increase in report of domestic abuse against men. To date, the DSVRT has received a total number of 131 cases in this regard. Overall, a total number of 1771 cases were reported during the period under review. The team also provided free medical services and psycho-social therapy for over 700 survivors of domestic/sexual violence, conducted capacity building trainings with 220 police officers across the State, and successfully secured the conviction of seven perpetrators,” he said.

He added that through the Citizens’ Mediation Centre (CMC), the State Government received a total number of 47,292 new cases free of charge out of which 25,191 were resolved with others at various stages of resolution.

“The total value of settlement of debt related matters achieved by the Centre during the period under review from May 2017 to April 2018 as settlement between parties was N1,352,745,391,” the Atoorney General said, among other achievements by the State Government in the justice sector.

Speaking on Hotel and Restaurant Consumption (Fiscalization) Regulations 2018, Kazeem clarified that it was neither a new law nor an additional tax, but a regulation aimed at ensuring that government gets due revenue.

“It is a regulation and not a new law. It was made pursuant to an existing law that was already in operation. What this regulation essentially seeks to do is to allow the government to put certain equipment in the restaurant and hospitality organizations to properly monitor the revenue that is coming so we can know what exactly is due to the State Government.

“It is not an additional tax; it is just to enhance transparency in collection of taxes that are due to the State. So, I want to clarify that carefully,” Kazeem said.

On other high profile cases, he said it was gratifying to report that the cases were progressing in court, saying the Synagogue Church case for instance on the collapsed building which killed people was progressing well, adding that a no case submission filed by the accused persons instead of defending the case was recently dismissed by the Court, while the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Reverend King who is presently on death roll imposed by the court would have his fate determined in due course. -The 

BudgIT : Nigeria loses N2.5bn annually to gas flaring

A civic technology organization, BudgIT Nigeria, said on Thursday that Nigeria loses N2.5 billion annually to gas flaring.

The organization, which is interested in entrenching transparency in government budgets, disclosed this in a statement issued by its Communication Lead, Abiola Afolabi, and made available to journalists in Abuja.

BudgIT urged the Federal Government to take action against the effects of gas flaring which continued to contribute to Nigeria’s environmental degradation.

While commending the government on some progress made in the fight against routine gas flaring in the last 20 years, the organization revealed that an analysis carried out by its extractives team showed that the volume of gas produced increased by 91.13 per cent while the volume of gas flared reduced by only 38.06 per cent between 2001 and 2016.

“This implies that oil companies invested more money in gas production activities and are less concerned about sufficiently investing in technologies and infrastructure to control gas flaring.

“What Nigeria has at the moment is potential for the consumption of un-flared gas. Therefore, the supply framework, infrastructure and market systems necessary for un-flared gas to reach its end users’ needs must be collectively and sustainably developed by all stakeholders,” the statement said.

BudgIT urged the government to explore existing technologies and strategies to reduce the amount of gas flared into the atmosphere. - The Nation

Corruption rules !!! 55 politicians, high-level public officials stole N1.3trn in seven years - SERAP

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) says N1.354 trillion was stolen from the nation’s coffers by “55 politicians and high-level public officials” between 2006 and 2013.

SERAP said this on Wednesday in Lagos while unveiling its report titled ‘Letting the big fish swim’.

The organisation said the amount of money “embezzled, misappropriated or stolen by public officials and leaders in the private sector between 2013 and 2017 has galloped beyond the contemplation of average Nigerians”.

It said, “evidence abound that judges, judicial officers, lawyers and military officers are participants in the frenzy of despoliation of national wealth”.

The organisation said part of its discoveries is that those accused of high-level corruption are “getting away with their crimes and profiting from Nigeria’s legacy of impunity”.

In the report obtained by TheCable, SERAP said although the nation’s anti-corruption agencies handled more than 1,500 non-high profile corruption cases between 2000-2017, they could only secure ten of such cases

“Out of the 10, only three convictions were obtained after full trial while seven convictions were based on plea bargaining,” the report read in part.

“Most corruption cases against high profile defendants witness delays tactics and tricks by defendants to truncate fair trial. The cases depict the stark reality of a captive justice system at the mercy of high profile offenders and their platoon of defence counsel.

“The negligible number of conviction of high profile defendants explains the probable calculus of offenders that the risk of apprehension and conviction is low. The record of proceedings from courts and law reports paint a vivid and irrefutable picture of the causes of truncation of prosecution of high profile in Nigeria.

“The trajectory of cases through investigation to trial and appeals qualitatively reveals strong evidence of a nexus between weak institutional capacity on the one hand and attitudes of actors in the criminal justice sector that hamstring orderly and efficient collation and presentation of evidence in court, which militates against impartial determination of corruption cases.

“The sense of simmering undercurrent of commodification of justice and commercialised legal contortions and reasoning pervades investigation, prosecution and trial of high profile corruption cases in Nigeria.

“Justice stands in the dock this game of musical chairs presided by technical justice while high profile offenders gleefully sit in comfort with their loot, fortified by the efficacy of a vast array of subterfuge and jiggery-pokery of their lawyers, with seeming active and passive connivance of actors in the legal community.” - Cable Nigeria

Fulani Herdsmen kill 3 Policemen in Nasarawa

The Nasarawa state Policemen Command has lost three of its officers to gunmen suspected to be herdsmen in two separate attacks in Awe and Keana local government areas on Wednesday.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bello  who confirmed the incidents while addressing newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Lafia yesterday said five persons have been arrested in connection with the murder.

The Police commissioner gave names of the culprits as Bawa Alhaji, Aliyu Waziri, Muhammed Auta Riga, Sale Muhammad and Alhaji Adamu Auta, adding that they were all arrested in Riga Auta along Radio House in Keana local government area of the state.

He said items recovered from them include one AK 47 rifle with 30 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition, adding that the command had since commence investigation into the senseless killings at the Southern senatorial of the state.

Ahmed said: “It is quite unfortunate that these attacks were not only unleashed on innocent citizens, but also on security personnel who are trying to restore peace and order in the affected communities.”

“On April 16, 2018 there were attacks on our men while responding to distress calls in Awe and Keana local government areas, which led to the loss of three police personnel on peacekeeping mission,” he added.

CP Ahmed said so far sixteen suspected Fulani herders have been arrested by Nasarawa state police command in connection with the ongoing killings and for committing various offences in Obi, Awe and Keana local government areas of the state.

The police boss also disclosed that the command had also arrested four Fulani mercenaries whom he said migrated from Shendam in Plateau state

to Azara  in Awe local government to unleash terror.

Those apprehended were Mohammed Sani- Adamu, Shuaibu Alhaji, Saidu Mahammadu and Adamu Jatau. - The Nation

IMF advises Nigeria to remove tax exemptions, says economy still at risk

Catherine Pattillo, assistant director, fiscal affairs department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has advised Nigeria to remove tax exemptions because the economy is still at risk.

Answering questions from journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing Spring meeting of the Bretton Wood institution, she said Nigeria needs to increase its revenue base because debt interests are eating up most of it.

Nigeria currently gives a three-year tax holiday to practitioners in 27 industries under the pioneer status incentive. Also, companies receive tax waivers for carrying out certain projects on behalf of the federal government.

“You have seen the most recent IMF staff report on Nigeria which was emphasising that with a constraining debt servicing as you know the ratio of federal government interest payment to debt revenue is extremely high, 63 percent,” Pattillo said.

“There is a need to build revenue so that you have more space to spend for infrastructure, social safety nets, etc, otherwise interest is eating up most of your revenue so building revenue is key and how do you do that?

“The recommendation in the IMF staff report is to broaden the tax base by removing exemptions, to rationalise tax incentives in particular to strengthen tax compliance and our recommendation to raise the VAT rate. So those were the recommendations for Nigeria on tax.”

Pattillo said the government’s strategy of favouring foreign debts over domestic ones has merit.

“Factors that support that is that Nigeria’s current external debt to GDP ratio is low so the external interest payments are relatively low. The benefit of that switch is a reduction in overall interest payments and a lengthening of maturity,” she said.

Speaking further, Pattillo said lenders may become scared to have dealings with countries with high-interest payments like Nigeria because of the risk of repayment. - Cable Nigeria

Conte is not our target - Italy

The report claims that, unless there is a big surprise, Conte will not be Italy’s next manager.

Italy are not looking to make Antonio Conte their next national team manager, according to Calcio Mercato.

The Italian national team are looking for a new manager after they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia this summer.

The Chelsea boss’ future is becoming more unclear by the day, with a number of conflicting reports and claims.

Some claim that Conte will leave the club at the end of the season, whilst others believe he will stay.

There were reports earlier in the week claiming that he had been sacked, which later turned out to be false.

He previously managed the Italian national team between 2014 and 2016

Conte was thought to be one of the favourites for the job, but Roberto Mancini now appears to be in pole position to land the role. - Read Sport